This Ability is an online disability awareness newspaper which publishes inspiring stories from around South Africa covering a vast range of topics and abilities. It aims to motivate and inspire persons with disabilities and their family and caregivers.

Run by a small, but dedicated team across South Africa, the newspaper shares stories that promote empowerment, innovation and inclusiveness.

You can read the latest issue by visiting the website, or you can read the stories directly on the web. You can also subscribe to make sure you do not miss any issues of the newspaper in the future.

Many congratulations to everyone involved in the project, that some may remember was selected for the Zero Project 2017 awards in the category of Innovative Employment Practices.

In case you need a re-fresh, the project identifies women who run small businesses and have a marginalised disabled background and offers microfinance solutions without collateral. Between 2008 and 2016 an incredible 14,000 women with disabilities received loans.

John Alex, Group Head-Social Initiatives at Equitas will be continuing to spread the word on this great project, by giving a talk on the model at the upcoming Annual SEEP Conference in October 2-4, 2017 at Arlington, USA.

One of our closest partners and conference allies is heading off on a spectacular adventure to promote the #valuable campaign. On 4th September 2017 Caroline Casey, founder of Binc,will embark on a 1,000 kilometre horse adventure through Colombia to ignite a global conversation on inclusion, through the #valuable campaign.

Backed by global business leaders, #valuable calls on businesses to put disability own their boardroom agenda and will identify 10 game-changing business leaders to stand for the one billion people living with a disability worldwide, and champion the issue of disability around the globe.

Apply to the GenH Challenge with your everyday idea to change the trajectory of health.

The best ideas for the future of health can come from anyone, anywhere in the world. Pioneered by Johnson & Johnson, the GenH Challenge is a social innovation prize competition uniquely incentivizing global entrepreneurs, innovators, and people on the front lines of health to join forces and tackle some of the world’s toughest health challenges.

The GenH Challenge is founded on the belief that everyday ideas can transform the trajectory of health for humanity. The competition provides up to $250,000 in funding, plus other incentives, to support and champion the pioneers of ingenuity who will help the world achieve its healthiest generation – “GenH.”

The European Foundation Centre has released a publication summarising and analysing how EFC members and other institutional philanthropy actors are engaging with the field of disability. The report provides an up-to-date picture of 34 philanthropic organisations active in the field of disability. The Zero Project is proud to have been one organisation contributing to this report.

The survey, which was carried out in the context of the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), focused on institutional philanthropy actors who are funding, supporting, advocating, and partnering to advance the situation of people with disabilities in Europe and beyond, including those with disabilities related to ageing.

The survey found that the organisations employed over 1,600 full-time-equivalent staff and spend around 155 Million Euro annually in the field of disability.

Read more about the other key findings, or view the full report by visiting the EFC website.

Today we take a slight detour from the subject of disability to help raise awareness on a very important issue from one of our partner organisations. Lumos Foundation have produced a report detailing the complex orphanage situation in Haiti. The report gives a thorough account of why the substantial funding going towards the orphanages in Haiti is not necessarily leading to improved conditions for the children and may in some cases be leading to abuse and rights violations.

This detailed report gives some practical advice to donors, volunteers, multi-lateral and bi-lateral partners, and the Government of Haiti on what part they can play in turning this situation around and promote returning to community- and family-based care.

We urge you to read the report and share with your network to raise this important issue.

The Disability Rights Fund has opened its 2017 grants round for Disabled Persons’ Organizations in Bangladesh, the Pacific Island Countries, Rwanda, and Uganda.

The broad objective of the Fund is to support persons with disabilities around the world to build diverse movements, ensure inclusive development agendas, and achieve equal rights and opportunity for all. Through grantmaking, advocacy, and technical assistance, DRF supports Disabled Persons’ Organizations to use global rights and development frameworks such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Applicant organizations from Rwanda and 14 Pacific Island Countries (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) may apply for grants through the open Request for Proposals process. Organizations from Bangladesh and Uganda may apply by invitation only. The deadline is August 17, 2017.

Find out if your organization is eligible and get the application form by visiting the Disability Rights Fund website.

The Impact Hub has opened its call for applications on the “Investment Ready Program”. If you haven’t heard about the program (where have you been!), it’s a unique 4-month program for entrepreneurs from Central – and Eastern Europe creating scalable solutions to societal challenges. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to refine your business plan, create an attractive investment case, and gain access to investors (Since 2011, 77 entrepreneurs from the CEE region have gained 3.8 million euro in funding!).

The deadline for applications is 1st September, but that deadline will be upon us before we know it so be sure to not miss this opportunity!

The award was handed over to Mr Vashkar Bhattacharjee (National Consultant for Accessibility at a2i Program and Program Manager at YPSA) and Mr Kabir Bin Anwar (Project Director at a2i Program and Director General at Prime Minister’s Office in Bangladesh) at an award ceremony at the Headquarters of the United Nation’s International Telelcommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva.

With support from a2i’s Service Innovation Fund, Mr. Vashkar Bhattacharjee, who has visual impairments, along with Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) have transformed all regular textbooks into user-friendly “DAISY Multimedia Books” for all subjects from classes 1 to 10. These books can also be listened to and read by around 30% of the low-literate population using android and PC-based devices.